Fernanda Cleared of Criminal Defamation Charges
Anti-asbestos campaigner, Fernanda Giannasi, of Brazil who has been a Labour Inspector in Sao Paulo State for more than twenty years has been given both Brazilian and international honours for her work with asbestos victims.
In 2001, she was a successful finalist in the prestigious Claudia Award for Brazil's Woman of the Year and was elected a Fellow of the renowned Collegium Ramazzini. In 2004, she was given the Tajiri Award of Japan.
In spite of all this, she was framed with a criminal charge by the ex-Labour Minister of Brazil for denouncing the fraud of creating a bogus Union to defend asbestos use and reduce the value of awards offered to asbestos victims.
A threatening letter accused her of being responsible for decreasing the use of asbestos in Brazil from 140,000 tonnes per year to 64,000 tonnes per year.
Although, as a civil servant, Inspector Giannasi has not had a salary increase for years she has had to bear the costs of her defence personally. She is still paying off the legal bills she incurred defending herself in an unsuccessful defamation action brought by the Brazilian asbestos company, Eternit S.A., in 1998.
However, the judge who implicated her and deemed her guilty of offending the ex-Minister's honour turned out to be corrupt; he was arrested and is still in jail for having received money from criminal corporations.
Now, finally, the decision of this corrupt individual has been overturned and Fernanda vindicated.
This is a big victory for all who are fighting for occupational health rights across the globe against the onslaught of corporations and governments.
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April 21, 2006
